CLOSED: Say what? :-)

This bird really made me think of a Say's Phoebe. It sounded and acted like one flying from shrub top to yucca stalk and swooping for insects. BUT it had a really short tail and the color of the belly didn't seem as rufous - maybe more buff. When it flew it seemed to have almost a yellow cast to the underside of the tail. It seemed smaller than a Say's Phoebe to me. I've seen lots of Say's Phoebes and will be a little amused with myself if that is what this is.
I have 4 pictures. Thanks for looking and for your help.

picture 2

#3

last one- where is the tail??.. I followed it for about a half mile!

Angele ... I'm pretty sure that your bird is a Western Kingbird. They do look quite similar to a Say's Phoebe and I've often gotten them confused myself. Here's a pic of one I took the other day. Notice that the belly is much more yellow than the Say's Phoebe.

This message was edited May 15, 2009 1:19 AM

Just for comparison ... Here's a pic of a Say's Phoebe.

Jane

I'd say a Say's Phoebe that has lost its tail feathers (perhaps due to cat attack, or hawk attack)

Resin

Thank you Jane and Resin. :-)

Jane, I've got both birds around here too and I have to tell you I was thinking this looked almost like a cross between them!!! I think the missing tail made the body look stouter like a Kingbird but the chin appeared too dark to my eye for that bird.
I looked and looked at all the pictures in Sibley's for a bird with a really short tail though and finally just had to ask for help. I didn't realize a bird could do so well without a tail! If I see it again I'm not going to follow it through the desert - it has been through enough!
Thanks again.

Loss of the tail feathers is fairly common; it probably makes them less agile in flying (and particularly landing), but they can usually get by OK until the next moult when new feathers are produced.

Best I've ever seen on the tail-less side was a Magpie that had lost its tail . . . that looked really weird!

Resin

Resin I was really hoping that it would be able to grow new feathers. When it flew it did have a short fan of feathers where the tail would be. I'm guessing not too much damage was done as it lost the feathers. It really seemed to get around ok. :-) I can imagine your Magpie left you scratching your head, lol, it really changes the appearance of proportion.